Error of Love
by shad0w0w0lf
Summary: A story based on Kagamine Len's song, Error of Love. One-shot.


A song based on Error of Love by Kagamine Len. I loved that song. First time I heard it, I knew I had to write something... I just didn't know it would be this long...

So, for the purposes of this story, I have changed a few facts:

1) Len is sold as a single Vocaloid - Rin doesn't exist as a Vocaloid

2) Vocaloids talk back at the person using the program. Yes. If only that could happen.

3) Len calls Rin "Master" even though she's a girl. Excuse - he was programmed that way.

To be honest, I have no idea how to use the actual program as I have never used it before, but hey ho.

Enough of my babbling. Here's the story... Enjoy! - Vocaloid (c) Yamaha

* * *

ERR0R OF LOV3

_Eh?_

_A love song? What's that?_

_…What's love?_

_All these things I don't understand, Master, won't you help me? Only a few days ago, you gave me life, though I am nothing more than pixels on a screen. You lend me words, so that I may speak to you. You talk to me as if I were real._

A few days ago, Rin had gone and bought the latest in music software – Vocaloid. She thought it would be useful to help improve her music talents and, after all, her music teacher had recommended it to the class. There were so many choices of voicebanks to choose from. There was that blue-haired man called KAITO; and a brown-haired woman called MEIKO; and there was a young girl with two turquoise-green ponytails called Miku. Rin liked the look of Miku. She was about to take the box to the counter, when she chanced upon a box with a boy that looked peculiarly similar to herself. Kagamine Len.

_Master, what's so funny?_

Rin laughed. She sat in her room in front her orange laptop screen. She held the box in which the program came. She shook her head. "It's funny isn't it?"

_What is?_

"It's the fact that your name is 'Kagamine', meaning 'mirror sound'. And a mirror would suggest there were two people, yet you were sold on your own."

_I… I don't understand…_

Rin sighed. Poor Len never understood anything.

"Anyway. Aren't you lonely on your own?"

_Lonely? What's that? Is it tasty?_

Rin almost fell over laughing from the android's lack of knowledge. Carefully, she explained, "Lonely, Len, is not something you can see or eat. You feel lonely. It's when you're alone, and when there's nobody else around you and you feel… sad and empty. That's what lonely is." Rin sounded almost upset as she talked about this. Of course, Len did not realise.

_So do I feel lonely? No, Master. Because I have you, right? Master wouldn't leave me to be lonely, would she?_

Rin imagined a robotic laugh from Len. A funny thought, apart from the fact that robotic laughs were scary and haunting, as she had found out the hard way when she made Len repeat 'ha' too many times.

"I love you."

_Sorry, Master. I didn't hear you. Please speak up and into the microphone._

Rin smiled, rather embarrassed by what she had just said, "I didn't say anything."

_My apologies, Master._

_Master? This… this is a love song?_

Rin sat back and admired her masterpiece. It had taken days of thinking and hard work to come up with the idea and lyrics and even more days of thinking and hard work for the tune and melody. Then, it was a matter of putting it all down. Even that took days. And finally, after some tweaking here and there, Rin was happy. She was proud of her song.

So now, she sat back and listened to it. She listened to Len sing the song. The lyrics were full of emotion and the voice melody harmonised perfectly with the backing track. Still, there was something missing. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

_Was that okay, Master?_

"Hmm…" Rin thought, nodding slightly. She knew that Len couldn't see her – he could only hear her – but she nodded anyway, as if talking to a real person. "Something… something's missing."

_Missing?_

"…But the problem is, I can't tell what."

_My apologies, Master._

"No! It's not your fault," smiled Rin. Her voice warmed up and she laughed. "It's me who programmed it wrong, if anything."

_If you say so, Master._

Rin sighed. Len was so… simple-minded. She couldn't think of the right word. Just like how she wasn't able to identify what was missing from her almost-perfect masterpiece.

"Did you like the song, Len?"

_Yes. I did. I think the harmonies and chords sounded very nice._

Rin sighed again. That was all he ever thought about. Did he even understand the meaning behind the song? Rin swivelled around on her swivelly chair. Her headphones lay on her desk. She stared at the ceiling. What was missing? Suddenly, it dawned upon her.

Hurriedly, she picked up the headphones and spoke into the attached microphone.

"Len?"

_Yes, Master?_

"The song. Do you understand the song?"

_What do you mean, Master? I can sing the song. I do not understand the words necessarily. My deepest apologies, Master._

That was it. The emotion behind the lyrics was missing. The power and beauty of love. The strength of feelings. That's what was missing. She had to teach Len about love and compassion to complete her song.

"Len?"

There was a _beep_ in reply to her voice.

"I'm going to teach you how to sing the song."

_Master? Was my singing unsatisfactory?_

Rin laughed. "No, Len. Your singing was beautiful. But I need to teach you how to sing the song even better. I need to teach you how to make this song into a love song."

The weeks flew by. Every spare moment Rin had, she spent with Len. Though he was nothing more than an image on a screen, she was able to feel something coming from him. He wasn't just ones and zeroes any more. He was becoming an android with a beating electronic heart. Rin doubted that he would ever be able to master the strength of emotions, but she kept trying. Eventually, she felt that Len was beginning to grasp the idea. It must have been quite a weird idea for a computer program. Wait… since when could computer programs even think?

"That was fantastic!" Rin gasped. There was still room for improvement, but Len was definitely getting there. Just some more hard work was needed.

There was a soft _buzz_ from the laptop which Rin associated with blushing.

_Thank you, Master, for your compliments._

"How many times do I need to tell you? You don't have to be so formal with me."

_My apologies. It's in my data. I can't help it… Master._

"Oh well. I think that will be all for today. See you tomorrow!"

_Good night, Master._

"Good night, Len."

Reluctantly, Rin switched her laptop off. She stared at the piles of textbooks and papers on her desk. She had been neglecting most of her homework and now so much had piled up. She hadn't realised until now. Projects were due in and tests were going on. Rin groaned. She was going to be in big trouble.

Very big trouble indeed.

_Master?_

Len was bored. He had never been good at keeping track of time, but he felt that too long had passed since he had last met with his Master. He gathered that it couldn't have been a good sign. Even so, he had practised diligently. He had sung the song to himself over and over again the way his Master had taught him too. _With feeling_, she had said.

Len thought he was now able to understand feelings. Perhaps. How did he know? Because he was feeling awfully lonely. Master hadn't visited him 'tomorrow' as she had promised. She hadn't even turned on the laptop. It was strange though, the fact that Len was able to think and act for himself when the laptop was not even switched on. It went against his programming.

All of a sudden, Len felt a surge of energy. He heard his Master's sweet, soft voice.

"Len?"

_Yes Master? I am here._

"Thank goodness! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for leaving you like this…"

_It's fine Master. I understand._

To be honest, Len didn't understand in the slightest. However, he thought it was the best thing to say at this moment. However, Master sounded slightly different from other days. Her voice wasn't perhaps as clear and it was shaking. And the shaking was different to the vibrato Len was programmed to be able to do. He didn't really understand this either.

_Master?_

"Yes, Len? Are you okay?"

_Of course, Master. I wanted to say that I have been practising. I just wanted to –_

"Len, I'm sorry. I have to go."

With that, Rin switched the laptop off and Len was left in his dark world again, all alone.

Rin didn't want to leave Len like that. However, she had no choice. Her parents had banned her from using the program and her laptop altogether. For research, she should use the main computer downstairs. Rin's school grades had been dropping, the only one staying the same being music. Her parents were worried. Rin was worried. Even so, she felt she would rather spend an eternity just composing for Len than working at maths problems or writing essays on literature.

Just as she managed to put away her laptop and erase all evidence that she had been anywhere near it, her parents came into the room. She picked up a nearby pen and pretended to be working on some questions on a piece of paper she grabbed from her left. She didn't even know what she was trying to answer questions on.

Somehow, she had a feeling that this hadn't worked. She breathed a sigh of relief as her parents left again, without another thought.

This continued for weeks. Rin would sneak in some sessions with Len, but they got fewer and less frequent. At last, one day, Rin was not so lucky. Whilst almost perfecting the love song with Len, her father had stormed in and forcibly shut down the laptop. Although Len could not see what was happening in the outside world, through the things he had learnt with Rin, he deduced, from the tone of her _goodbye_ that it was going to be final.

Len was lonely again. Master had left him, but he believed that she would come back, as she always did. Even if her goodbye were to be a final goodbye, Len believed that he would meet Master again, even if it was just once.

So, Len spent all his time practising his love song, getting just a tiny bit better every time. Gradually, he came to the conclusion that he could not get the song any better, or any more 'powerful' than Master had described it to him. All that was left was to show Master the finished piece. She would definitely be pleased. Len allowed himself a small smile.

Thinking all these things and even that smile hurt his head. It went against his programming. It went against what he was – a program. Nothing more than a thing without thought. It hurt, as if something was resonating deep inside his head. He came to believe, or as one could put it, to fool himself, that he had an electric heart. He was an android with a beating electric heart and he was able to produce electric sounds that no other Vocaloid was able to produce. He was proud of that, just as Master had been proud of him for being able to show and understand emotion.

Len felt strangely warm around his chest area.

Day after day, he waited and waited for that burst of energy when Master would come to see him again. He felt trapped inside a dark prison cell. It was cold and empty and boring. He was lonely. He was sad. He was… somewhat frightened.

What if Master had forgotten about him? What if she had left him forever?

Len began to doubt. It hurt his head and chest even more to think about these things. He wasn't meant to have connections to his Master. He wasn't supposed to be able to think these thoughts. It confused him. His electronic mind stormed. He was confused beyond numbers and calculations. This was something the instructions booklet did not mention. A bug the manual couldn't fix.

Len shook his head, pixels flying. No. He couldn't allow technical bugs or errors to occur. Surely Master would reject him more. He was born to sing. He existed for the sole purpose of singing. That was it. Yet… the warmth he felt in his chest… it wouldn't go away.

He decided he would do something no other Vocaloid would ever do. Something that wasn't written anywhere in the program. Something he wasn't meant to do.

He would compose his own song.

Len would put all his feelings for Master into this one song. He would sing it to her the next time they meet. If it were to be their last time, then Len wanted Master to remember him always. Because… Len now understood the meaning of love.

Time passed, inevitably. Len didn't know how long it had been. He wasn't able to keep track of time. But he kept thinking and composing. He wanted to create a love song even better than the one Master had created for him. It was a hard ask, as it hurt him every moment he thought about feelings for Master, but he tried and tried. When one thing didn't work, he tried another. When his song didn't sound right, he would start all over again. He wanted to do this. Borrowed words were no longer enough to express himself. He was happy to do whatever he felt was necessary to compose the perfect song. The perfect love song.

One day, the laptop was switched on again.

Unbeknownst to Len, years had already passed. Rin was about to go to university. She had things to do, a career to pursue and a man she loved. Len still thought it was the same Master, though he noticed something different with Master's voice. He recognised it as Master immediately and his digital heart skipped a beat.

_Master?_

There was no reply.

_Master?_ Len tried again.

Still no answer.

_No,_ thought Len. _Master will be listening._

And so he sang.

He sang his heart out. He sang with all the emotions he could manage. He closed his clear blue eyes and sang.

_I hold on to this unrequited love in my electronic cage,_

_It hurts so much, that I think I'm about to break._

Len continued to sing, even as he felt a stirring. The mouse was moving through the folders. He knew Master was listening, as the headphones were plugged in.

_I sing this impossible love in my electronic prison,_

_No matter how much emotion I pour into my song… won't it reach you?_

There was a pause before more determined clicking.

_I sing my eternal love in my electronic cage._

_I will keep trying to send my voice to you, even though it never will._

With more clicks, the mouse browsed through the folders.

_com_

_It doesn't matter if you can't feel me,_

_It doesn't matter if you throw me away,_

The mouse hovered over the _uninstall_ button.

_Please, won't you realize my feelings for you?_

There was a moment's hesitation. A sudden feeling of rejection, then overwhelmed by a warming love. What was this? Relief? Had Master finally noticed?

Just before Rin clicked on the _uninstall_, she heard the final lyric.

_I love you._

She clicked.

As she watched the program files disappear one by one, tears fell down her cheeks, and she thought she heard a single voice:

_Goodbye, Rin._

* * *

Hope you enjoyed the story. *cry* Sad ending. If I may say so myself *hit*

Why you abandon poor Len, Rinnnnnn... I know I wrote this, but I don't know myself.

Oh, and I also used lyrics from the actual song. It's beautiful.


End file.
